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Live Traffic Map

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How it Works

Solving a Problem Lagos is a state plagued by bad traffic. The state government are doing what they can to try fix the problem but in the meantime, Lagosians are left on their own and must try to come up with inovative ways to manage the situation. An emerging initiative makes use of social media and crowd-sourcing to paint a somewhat accurate picture of the traffic situation in Lagos State. A single user can make use of the Twitter Microblogging Platform to gather and reroute traffic information from a multitude of users. Such accounts include @Gidi_Traffic and @TrafficButter. These accounts were setup to ease stress by providing on-the-go traffic updates and information. The Unique Appeal What's unique about this method is that these Twitter accounts are run by single individuals but rely heavily on a big followership. They work by rerouting information when and as needed. Many Lagosians have smartphones + Twitter app + Internet Data Plans. Followers can tweet about their traffic experiences in realtime, tagging the traffic account who who in turn re-tweets the info to all its followers. Followers can also ask questions regarding routes they're about to take (also tagging the traffic account, who in turns re-tweets the question for anyone to answer). Because of its massive followership, it's highly probable that one or more of its followers is either on the route in question or has just left it and can respond to enlighten all.

Under the Hood The Lagos traffic map is data driven and uses the Twitter API to filter and cleverly interpret the Tweets of Twitter accounts that provide real-time updates on the traffic situation in and around the state; accounts like @Gidi_Traffic and @TrafficButter. This information is then intuitively rendered on the Google Map of Lagos you see above. One Step Futher... While hanging out on Twitter an interesting question was put on the table: @LGTNigeria: @Gidi_Traffic Naija Computer Scientists, is it possible to come up with a mathematical formula/equation to accurately predict Lagos traffic? Understandably the question was met with ridicule but Lagos traffic can indeed be predicted to some degree of accuracy based on the input parameters. The next question is, what are the parameters? Public holidays, weekends, weekdays (how many people are around?), road width, construction, accidents, time of day(rush hour?), weather, landmarks (e.g. Church on Sunday)? Google, in their last g|Nigeria Conference 2012 made mention of using IT to tackle real-life problems Objectively instead of Subjectively. In this context, gathering enough data over a long period of time (years) can then be statistically analyzed in order to make accurate predictions. Imagine the possibilities? Knowing what road has the most accidents? Predicting criminal patterns in the state? etc.

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